All These Memories
by SiriusMarauderFan
Summary: She comes to him late at night, crying, and he can't help but wonder if he could be the one to make her want to smile again. Written for s i l v e r a u r o r a's birthday!


**Author's Note:**

Happy Birthday, Ellie! I hope you're having a good day. Enjoy. =)

This story was also written for the Teddy/Lily Challenge set by misswhiteblack in the HPFC. My inspirational prompts were "_&& finally i must have done something right because it's your arms i lie in every night_"and "Time After Time" by Nichole Nordeman. Without said prompts I would not have been able to write this, because I have no muse for the pairing at all.

**All These Memories**

It was almost one in the morning when the knock on the front door woke me up. I stayed in bed, waiting for whoever it was to go away, but the knocking persisted. After three minutes, she called out to me.

"Teddy, I know you're in there. Answer the bloody door."

As I rolled out of bed and searched for a pair of pants, I wasn't sure which was more pathetic, that I was home and trying to sleep this late on a Friday night, or that Lily knew it.

She was already crying when I opened the door. I didn't have the heart to tell her to come back in the morning like my sleep-deprived mind was telling me to, so I stepped aside so she could come inside. She waited for me to close and lock the door before going any farther into my flat, even though it was like a second home to her.

I pulled her over to the couch and wrapped my arms around her as she continued to cry. I wondered why she had come to me at all. Usually Lily would go to her mother or Albus if something was wrong, unless she'd had a fight with someone in the family...

"He cheated," she managed to tell me between sobs. Now it made sense.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Lily and Jeff had been together since their last year at Hogwarts - just over two years - and engaged for three months. James and Albus had always hated him, saying she was too good for him. Uncle Harry wasn't too keen on him either. Aunt Ginny was civil with him for Lily's sake. The news that the bastard had cheated on her would no doubt send all four Potters into a rage.

I had been pro-Jeff. He seemed like an alright guy, and he made her happy. But Lily knew I could hold my temper better than the others and not go and try to strangle him. Maybe. The least I could do was wait until Lily was feeling better before leaving her in the care of an aunt.

"I'm sorry," she whispered when she was done crying."

I summoned a box of tissues from another room and handed it to her. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I shouldn't have bothered you, I just can't tell Mum and Dad right now."

"Lils," I used the nickname only I was allowed to call her. She looked up at me. "You know you can come to me any time. I'm always going to be here for you."

"I know, I just thought ... well, I haven't done this in a while."

I nodded. When Lily started dating, Aunt Ginny became her confidant. Before then, Lils and I were best friends. I was her favorite brother, so to speak. It was around that time that I was promoted and didn't have as much time to spend visiting. Albus took over where I would normally have helped her.

"You're welcome here any time," I assured her. "For whatever reason too. I _would_ like to see you sometime when we're both not complete messes, you know."

She gave me a sad little smile. The last time she had been to my flat was when Grams died six months ago. Lily spent the entire week with me, making sure I ate and brewing sleeping potions and calming draughts for me. It was the first time I saw Lily as a grown woman and not just my little sister.

I'd always known she was pretty - and told her such on many occasions - but I never acted on any of my feelings. I mean, we've always been family. To act on those kind of feelings towards a family member is just, well, _wrong._

But the last few months have been different. I had trouble looking her in the eye the first few times. Now I comb my hair when I know I'll be seeing her. I wonder what she'd say if I asked her out. I've even thought of how I'd handle James and Al when they find out we're dating ... _if_ we start dating. I know Harry and Ginny won't have any problems with it. And I don't care much about age differences. There were thirteen years between my parents and they were madly in love. I've only got ten years on Lils.

"Teddy? Are you all right?"

I focused back on the Lily sitting in front of me and she's staring at me worriedly. She reached out a hand and touched my cheek.

"What's wrong?" she said.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how beautiful you are."

She blushed and hit my arm gently. We both laughed and spent the next hour talking about work before she fell asleep. As I watched over her, I wondered how long it would take me to convince her that I was falling in love with her, and then I realized that it didn't matter how long it took. I was going to do it.

**Author's Note:**

Well, I'm happy with it. Review, please?

-Lizzy


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